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Mañjuśrī
Mañjuśrī (Jap., Monju, Tib., ʾJam.paʾi.d-byangs). A great bodhisattva of the Mahāyāna tradition of Buddhism closely associated with learning, knowledge, and transcendental wisdom (prajñā). Mañjuśrī is prominent in Buddhist Tantra and is frequently invoked in ritual and depicted in mystic diagrams and maṇḍalas. In iconography he is portrayed with the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a book to his left-hand side. In Tibet, great teachers are often regarded as incarnations of Mañjuśrī, e.g. Tsong Khapa. He also appears in angry form, and as a yidam of that sort, is especially important in Gelugpa.
Mañjuśrī's name means Gentle Holy One, yet he has a terrifyingly wrathful form as the bull-headed Yamāntaka (Slayer of Death), who as Vajrabhairava has been chief protector of the Geluk since his sādhana (ritual practice) was institutionalized by Tsong Khapa. Vajrabhairava—the most common form of Yamāntaka—is blue-black in colour with eight wrathful heads surmounted by a ninth, peacefully smiling Mañjuśrī. That Mañjuśrī as the wisdom-overcoming-death should be wrathful is understandable by the nature of the task, but that a certain amount of wrathfulness is necessary in simply dealing with one's own ignorance is also suggested by the symbolism of the sword in his peaceful aspect. |
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JOHN BOWKER. "Mañjuśrī." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Mañjuśrī." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Majur.html JOHN BOWKER. "Mañjuśrī." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Majur.html |
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Mañjuśrī
Mañjuśrī. One of the great mythical or celestial Bodhisattvas in Mahāyāna Buddhism, also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrī-kumāra-bhūta. He is first mentioned in some of the early Mahāyāna texts such as the Prajñā-pāramitā Sūtras and through this connection soon came to symbolize the embodiment of insight (prajñā). He later figures widely in many texts associated with tantric Buddhism such as the important Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa. Iconographically, he is depicted in a peaceful form holding a raised sword—symbolizing the power of insight—in his right hand and a book of the Prajñā-pāramitā Sūtra in his left. According to the tantras, he has a wrathful aspect, known as Yamāntaka.
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Cite this article
DAMIEN KEOWN. "Mañjuśrī." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "Mañjuśrī." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Majur.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "Mañjuśrī." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Majur.html |
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